It is presently known in the art to provide books, and especially paperback books, with covers that protect the books. Such protective covers commonly include front and back cover receiving pockets and body portions extending over the outer face of the book covers and over the spine of the book. Since books vary in thickness, protective covers are often made in different sizes, or are made to accommodate different book thicknesses. For example, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,240 which accommodates books of different thicknesses by having the spine section wrap around and extend in overlapping relationship, a back cover protector. However, such an arrangement leaves an unsightly seam on the protective cover which is visible to the user. In addition, no satisfactory arrangement is provided for preventing the book from inadvertently sliding out of the protective cover. Another representative prior art arrangement is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,133,750 which includes a spine section which overlaps both the front and back cover protectors. Such an arrangement is also unsatisfactory in that it leaves an unsightly seam on both the front and back cover protectors.
Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved protective cover for books, such as paperback books, which overcomes the aforesaid drawbacks. Specifically, it is within the contemplation of the present invention to provide an improved protective cover which is simple to use, inexpensive, and which accommodates books of different thicknesses.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved protective cover which may be secured to the book to prevent it from being inadvertently removed from the protective cover and to prevent the book from moving relative to the protective cover, so that in use, the presence of the protective cover is substantially unnoticeable, and presents no inconvenience to the user.